Board Games
by StreakingHerculobus
Summary: Misaki makes an unexpected visit to Li's apartment only to find that he already has company in the form of Amber. Season 1. Complete.


_**[for Amber happiness was just a dream]**_

Misaki fingered the green coat. She had it tucked under her left arm, as she ascended the steps to Li's apartment. He had left it behind at the mall the same day of their awkward encounter.

Admittedly, the first thought across her mind had been 'cross-dresser,' but the more she considered it, the less convinced she became. Li didn't seem like the type. He had been quite embarrassed to have been discovered. Which only left one option: he was buying for a lady-friend.

He never mentioned a girlfriend before, and she had explicitly asked. Of course a part of her was disappointed. She would never say it aloud, especially to Kanami, but she did harbor a small crush for him.

It was illogical and inappropriate. She must be several years older than him. He claimed to be twenty-four, but discounting his eyes, which appeared too old for someone in his twenties, he looked relatively younger than that.

Misaki played with the idea of asking him out. At 26, the elder and (supposedly) more experienced of the two she feels confident as the proactive one. However, no moment ever seemed right.

There was something unapproachable about Li. Like he only acted agreeable out of an obligation to not hurt the other person's feelings. She could sense it in his nervous laugh.

At the same time she saw a great potential for romance behind that genial smile. He was gentle and funny and kind, And there was something hidden, a deeper motivation, that she dearly wanted to discover. Her instincts told her that there was more to Li than he let on.

For example, he possessed a knack of always showing up in the vicinity of crimes committed by contractors. What that sentence implied was enough to make her insides melt. But there were extraneous factors to consider which greatly overshadowed any reason for suspicion.

It was just a coincidence that she had mistaken him for BK-201 once.

Or twice.

M-many men had the same hair and body-build. It was no cause for alarm.

His story checked out as well. He was a legal Chinese immigrant attending a local college (at least on paper; she hadn't gone so far as to tail him yet). And while he could lie about his past, which she already suspected, he was completely honest with her about the stars.

And someone who felt so deeply about the sky could never be a bad person let alone a cold-blooded killer. .

It suddenly occurred to her as she was about to knock that Li and BK-201 had arrived in Tokyo roughly around the same date. Again, a coincidence, she told herself. Tonight she would go home to her empty, empty apartment and kick herself for being so paranoid.

The door creaked open. Li peered through the crack and upon recognizing Misaki, put on that unassuming smile which perhaps belied an inner beast. "Um, what are you doing here, Officer Kirihara?"

"Please, call me Misaki, and I wanted to return your coat which you left at the mall the other day." She offered it to him, like a gift of peace, the icebreaker between the two of them.

He graciously accepted it, but Misaki found it odd that he hadn't invited her in as he had in the past.

"Hei! Who's at the door?" a female voice called out. She sounded young, about his age, if Misaki had to guess. "Hurry, it's your turn!"

Li was actually embarrassed if the tint of red on his cheeks was a good indication. He reluctantly allowed the door to swing open revealing the entirety of the flat. Two individuals with the freest expressions crouched over a board game. They were situated on the singular couch, and Misaki couldn't help but note to her displeasure that they were both female.

Li hadn't seemed the type to be overly social and she wouldn't come to believe it until she saw proper evidence. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all," Li quickly denied. "Come on in if you like. We need another member to make even teams. Right now it's me and Carmine against Amber."

Misaki nodded. She stepped inside, telling herself that she had nothing to lose. "What exactly are you playing?" She wasn't very acquainted with games. She had always considered them frivolous and a waste of time.

"Shadow Hunters," Li replied with a note of annoyance. "We even form secret teams."

"And don't be surprised if the teams suddenly change during the middle of the game," the girl with peculiar green hair added. It reached to her waist. "Our alliances are very tentative."

Misaki nodded. This woman spoke with an air of authority though cleverly disguised with kindliness. "A strange exercise." _And it cannot be too healthy, _she added to herself.

The same woman patted Li (who had gone back to the coffee table) on the back. "She's marvelous. Why haven't you invited her before?" She placed a hand over her heart. "But where are my manners? And yours, Li?" She shot him a look. "I'm Amber. This is Carmine." She motioned to the girl sitting beside her.

She had bushy tomato red hair atop a small bony body.. Carmine didn't acknowledge Misaki's presence. With her knees drawn against her chest like a child who is cornered, she continued to study the board, lost in her own little world.

"Forgive her," Amber waved it off. "She's shy, but she'll open up in no time. Now why don't you have a seat? You'll have to sit on the floor with Hei, I mean Li. The losers from the previous game always have to." She cupped a hand to her mouth like she was sharing a secret. "He's never made it to the couch."

Misaki nodded slowly, slightly overcome by Amber's outgoing personality. She acted too perky for a person like Li, or that's what Misaki hoped.

Then she noticed a fifth presence in the room, aside from the strange black cat snuggled up on the armrest, A thin teenage girl stood by the lone window stargazing. She was frozen to the spot, unmoving. "May I ask who is she?"

At the mention of her, Li became stiff. His relaxed stance transformed into steel. Misaki could see the way his jaw jutted forward.

But Amber was there to the rescue, affected to a less degree but hit nonetheless. Her lively attitude flipped when she cast a melancholy look in the girl's direction. "That's Yin. She doesn't say much." Amber deliberated and then mouthed the word, 'trauma.' "She'll be okay."

Misaki would like more of an explanation (that was her nature and part of why she became a police officer) but the last thing she wanted to do was pry. Instead she sat down by Li and listening to their instructions began to the play the game, horribly at first.

Amber began to explain, "So here is your secretly assigned role. Don't tell anyone else. You're either a shadow, a supernatural creature of the night, a hunter, humans attempting to eliminate the shadows, or a neutral, players caught in the crossfire. The rest you'll catch up in no time.

Misaki actually landed the role of a shadow. She didn't know how she felt about playing the hunted one. She was a lot more used to being the hunter.

Half an hour into the game, though, she had a queasy feeling in her stomach. Her alliance with Li wasn't going so well. In fact he was hurting her chances of winning, like he was working against her. At that point, she realized.

"You!" she pointed at Li. "How could you? I thought we were on the same team." Honestly, Misaki was more upset with how she didn't catch it sooner than with Li's betrayal.

Li scratched the back of his head guiltily. "Well, soon after we started I figured my chances were better if I assisted Havoc. In return she would turn on Amber. A calculated move, nothing personal."

Perfect reasoning, Misaki conceded. "But what about loyalty? Doesn't that mean anything?" She sounded exasperated. In her line of work people didn't treat defection so casually. But these three acted like betrayal was no big deal; in fact, like it was absolutely natural.

Li grimaced. "I learned a long time what loyalty will get you." He glanced at Amber.

"You really are terrible at this, Misaki." Amber shook her head, ignoring Hei's discreet accusation. "But it's a new experience for you, so there's nothing to be ashamed of. Li, on the other hand, is not much of a strategizer."

Li smiled sheepishly while everyone laughed at his expense.

But Amber went on, "And the clues can be right in front of his face. It's a miracle he's survived this long."

Li zeroed in on her satisfied curve of Amber's mouth. Misaki had a feeling that this went beyond teasing. That Amber was implying something. That she was no longer discussing the game.

"If you haven't noticed," Li began in a low voice Misaki didn't recognize, "I may not win every game, but I do survive."

Amber was going to challenge him, having forgotten that Misaki was in the room, but Carmine intervened softly, too timid to look them in the eye. "Let's just enjoy ourselves. We don't get to do this often."

Misaki studied the ginger more closely. As Amber predicted, she eventually came out of her shell. She joked with the group quite often, but never offered any conversation of her own. Most likely subject to low self-esteem, Misaki theorized. Perhaps a history of drug abuse, judging by the pale spotted skin.

"Of course," Amber replied, daring Li to object.

Li took his turn, less engaged than before. Whatever had gone on between them was serious.

Misaki now suspected the worst case scenario. That she just witnessed a lover's spat, a twisted one at that, if they would stoop to speaking in code and in front of others.

Amber was tall and beautiful, articulate for her age, and smart. The entire package. Misaki like to think she was all those things (except tall), but what could she offer that this contemporary can't? Misaki figured it was getting close to the time to leave.

"So how do you know Li?" Carmine began.

"We met a couple times on the street," Misaki shrugged. "And I keep running into him at his jobs. To be honest it's kind of weird."

Amber wiggled her eyebrows. "Some say that everything happens for a reason.". She suggestively elbowed Carmine. "Am I right?"

Li flushed, and Misaki had to fight back one of her own. Then it occurred to her. "Wait, are you're telling me that you two aren't together?"

Amber's face lost all traces of delight. She seemed legitimately flustered for the first instance tonight. "Why would you think that? Did we give you that impression?" Then in a one-eighty she added in a low tone, "Or did Li say something?"

"No," Misaki quickly came to Li's defense. "I'm sorry. From the way you two were acting, I just assumed…"

Fully understanding and also relieved Amber smiled sardonically. "Actually, you're not completely wrong. We were close. Back in the day." She shook her head. "But you'll find he doesn't have any room in his life apart from her (she jerked her head Yin's direction). "It's really sweet, if you think about it. But heartbreaking at the same time."

Li put his face into his hands. "Can you please stop talking like I'm not here?"

Amber sighed. She had meant to send a subtle message, but maybe it hadn't been so subtle after all. And then the argument had escalated. With a police officer as witness.

But as little as Amber saw Hei, she had to try her hardest to make him see. That contractors didn't have to be evil. That there were redeeming qualities to the worst of them. But it was hard to convince someone who believed in his heart that even humans were animals.

"Can you please stop making excuses for yourself?"

Amber immediately knew she had pushed him too far. Misaki seemed to sense the impending explosion as well.

"Everybody out of my house," he ground out. He seemed to be bottling the rage inside. His hands were clenched and he refused to stare anywhere else but a single spot on the wall.

"Don't overreact, _Li_," Amber ordered, stressing his name. She had little help the situation could be diffused at this point, however.

Misaki's mouth fell open, not knowing what to expect. She took a couple tentative steps toward the door in case.

"Now!" he growled, fixing Amber with a particularly heated glare. She was the only _one_ who could make him this angry.

Amber realized that there was no sense in arguing anymore. "I'll be back when you settle down. You can't get rid of me this easily," she warned over her shoulder as exited onto the patio. "Come on, Misaki. He needs some time alone to throw his tantrum."

"Except for you," Li pointed at Yin. "You stay." He searched for the cat. "You too Mao. She'll need the company."

Carmine followed Misaki out of the apartment, turning back one last time with deep regret. "I wished we could help him," she whispered. _But we all have problems of our own. No problem less difficult than another. _

Misaki debated whether she should ask Amber exactly what had occurred and if she should be worried. So she jogged to catch up with Amber. The woman was not far down the street, her pace at a brisk walk. "So what was that about? Anything I should know?"

Amber abruptly spun around, visibly stressed. "My advice to you personally is to stay away." She puffed her bangs. "You can only get hurt. At the same time, I believe you might do him some good. Heaven knows we haven't gotten through to him.".

Amber crossed her arms. "As for the fight, our relationship ended on bad terms. Eventually we were able to tolerate each other again, but no more than that."

"Then why do you still hang out?" Misaki couldn't reconcile their continued involvement with each other. "It doesn't seem very civil sometimes.."

Amber's frustration dissolved and she suddenly seemed far away. "Because we still need each other." With a tragic smile, she added, "One day he won't need me anymore. We started this road together, but unfortunately, only one of us will make it out."

* * *

><p>...Amber, minutes later, having put the incident behind her, addressed her companion. "So how did you like the activities?"<p>

Carmine shuffled across the asphalt with the coat pulled tight around body. The air was chilly. "It's nice to play pretend," she mumbled, her empty gaze frozen to the ground.

* * *

><p>Mao licked his paw as he laid on Yin's lap. The apartment was calm at last, just how Hei preferred it. It was just him and the doll. The cat didn't really count. Though the feline regretfully opened his mouth occasionally.<p>

"So don't you think you all revealed too much tonight?"

Hei blinked. "It's nothing. If Misaki begins to suspect anything, I'll kill her. Simple."


End file.
